March 27, 2012

Okay, so I typically only post about grocery shopping trips because that is the sort of thing that most of you are interested in. But, today I had an absolutely AWESOME Staples trip that I had to share!

If you are not already a Staples rewards member- JOIN! Even if you don't buy a ton from Staples it is definitely something to look into. Aside from the rewards you earn from shopping, they will randomly send really, REALLY good coupons, including one that I have gotten a few times now- a $10 off any purchase of $10 or more. There are several restrictions to the coupon including not using it on ink or certain brands, but it is still an amazing coupon.

To make this deal even sweeter, Staples is currently having a Dollar Days sale. Their prices aren't phenomenal, but they are even prices ($2 instead of $1.99) which makes this coupon easier to use since I can make it to a total of exactly $10. Sooo... without further ado... here is the breakdown...

Small clipboards: $1.00 each (these will be PERFECT for my Scentsy order forms!)

Scotch packing tape: $2.00 (excited to pick this stuff up because I use a ton of it when I am tagging for Little Britches)

Four pack of super glue: $2.00

Total: $10 before coupon, used $10/$10 purchase... drumroll please... FREEEEE!!! The best part is that, since it was a store coupon, I didn't have to pay any of the tax!!! So, I handed her the coupon, she gave me my stuff!!!!! It was so awesome!!! (Yes, I know I am a loser to get excited for that... I'm good with that!)

I am a little late getting this posted, but Shaun and I enjoyed an AMAZING weekend in KC, so my posting got put off a bit!

This was my in-between weeks shopping trip. I started out going to a few stores for a just a few things, but ended up finding other great deals at my stops! They still fit in the budget, so I went for it!

Easter basket treats: 2 Eggs at $1.00 each, had $1.00/2 Easter Mars items. Easter tins $1.99, had $1.00/2 Easter Mars items, $1.50 each (these were actually in a bit marked $1.00, so I should have argued with them on the price, but I didn't realize until I was leaving that there was an error. I could go back and return them... but I probably won't...)

Total: $16.23

Dillons

Dillons was having a Mega Event, meaning that if you buy 10 of selected items, you got $5.00, or $.50 an item, off. These prices are shown after the mega event savings.

Six bottles of diet pepsi: $.99 each, had 6 $.55/1 coupon that doubled to $1.00= FREE!!!!!!
Two bottles of mustard: $.99 each, had 2 $.30/1 coupons that doubled to $.60= $.39 each
Two bottles of Vitamin water: $.50 each (needed a filler item to get to the 10 items

I also got some good deals on some non Mega Event items:

Two bottles Frank's hot sauce: $1.15 (regular price), had 2 $.50/1 coupons that doubled to $1.00= $.15 each
Two packs Carefree pantyliners: $1.00 (regular price), had 2 $.50/1 coupons that doubled to $1.00= FREE!!!!!
Two Suave deodorants: $1.06 (regular price), had 2 $.50/1 coupons that doubled to $1.00= $.06 each
One 14 count Prevacid OTC: Had free item coupon= FREE!!!!!
Nine loaves of bread: Clearanced to $.48 each (I haven't been able to find this deal for awhile, so I had to practice some major restraint to not buy the entire shelf! This should keep us stocked for awhile, though!)

Total with tax= $9.84... ish. I actually lost my receipt, so I am kind of guessing on the tax, but, you get the idea.

March 18, 2012

Yeah, I made four trips to Ray's Apple Market in three days. Let me just say that this is most definitely NOT an all the time thing I do. I rarely go to every grocery store in the same week, let alone the same one multiple times. To explain the story of the quad Rays shop, let me start with the breakdowns:

This trip was on Tuesday. I actually realized that I needed cheese for dinner that night because I had miscalculated how much we would need. Since Ray's has bananas for $.29/pound on Tuesdays, I figured I might as well grab some of those. I also had a full milk punch card, so I figured I would go ahead and grab that gallon now as well.

Milk: Used full punch card: FREE!!!

Cheese: $1.88

Bananas: 5.24 pounds at $.29/pound: $1.51

Total with tax: $3.65

Next was on Wednesday to get milk for double punch day! I didn't take a picture but I promise it happened.

Now, the ad did start on Wednesday, so these deals were available during my milk trip. However, Shaun's paycheck didn't go in until Thursday so I needed to wait for my grocery budget deposit to go shopping again. This was hard for me to do because we have the money sitting in our bank account allocated to other things. I easily could have just used that and paid it back to save myself a trip. But, once I really thought about it, I decided I didn't want to let myself into that habit and that an extra trip was worth sticking closer to my budget.

Anywho... back to the breakdown:

Rays is having a sale where if you buy 5 selected Kraft items you get $5.00 off. The prices shown reflect this discount:

Kraft Fresh Take: $1.99, had 3 $1.00/1 coupons: $.99 each (I have some fish in the freezer that has to get used up. I figured for a buck a piece I could see if these could make us like fish)

2 Planters Peanut buter: $1.99, had a $1.00/2 coupon: $1.49 each

3 A1 Steak sauces: $2.29, had 3 $1.00/1 coupons, $1.29 each

Marked down light sour cream: $.75

Total with tax: $12.07

When I went on that Rays trip, they were out of the Parmesan cheese that was in the deal. My coupon actually expired that day, so I was bummed, but I decided to just deal with it. But, I ended up getting off work early that day, so I decided that I would run by the other store since I would be going to that side of town anyway. And, I ended up being glad I did:

The final Ray's trip:
4 Kraft reduced fat Parmesan cheeses: $2.49, used 4 $.55/1 coupons that doubled to $1.00: $1.49 each
1 Kraft shredded cheese: $1.59, no coupons (not a bad deal without a coupon and it gave me the five to get the deal).
Pampers diapers: Clearanced to $10!, had a $3.00/1 coupon, $7.00: $.13 a diaper! My buy-at price for diapers is $.25 each, so this was a steal! I was glad I made this trip because the diapers made it well worth it! I am not sure why they were clearanced. Probably a change in packaging or something??

Total with tax: $16.24

Hyvee

Hyvee had their cheese on sale! Woo hoo. So I, ahem, stocked up...

16 bags at $1.33 each (3 for $4)

Total with tax: $23.27

Dillons

4 Loaves marked down bread: $.79 each

5 bags broccoli: $1.00 each

Store brand baby wipes: $1.99, had a $.75 coupon= $1.24

2 Carefree pantyliners: $1.00 each, had two $1.00 coupons=free!

Suave conditioner: $3.29, had a free item up to $3.00 coupon= $.29

Q tips: $2.59, had a $1.00 coupon= $1.59

3 pounds ground turkey= $8.97 (more on that later!)

Outlet covers: $1.34, had a $.60 off coupon=$.74

Total with tax: $22.65

I also hit up Aldi but totally spaced on taking a picture. Got some produce ($.39 avacadoes and $.99 pineapple!). Also, I discovered that I was misinformed at my last trip- they still have the $1.49 pound rolls of ground turkey!!! I am so happy I am (almost) over paying twice that at Dillons!

March 11, 2012

When I asked Jameson what he wanted for breakfast this morning, his exuberant answer was "PANCAKES!!!". We normally keep a stock of pancakes in the freezer but had depleted them so we didn't have any I could just heat up. We normally go to church on Sunday mornings, but daddy having to work today and our church's nursery not always being staffed meant that we had to skip today (a surprise two kids during church with two parents is exhausting but possible- one parent and two kids? Heh!) so, I agreed to making some pancakes. I was in the mood for something different than we usually have, so I dug up my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (a MUST have) because I know I have made some tasty pancakes out of there before.

P.S. I love how wrecked my cookbook is! It sounds weird, but there is something satisfying about a cookbook that you can tell has actually been used!

I discovered the "Blueberry-Cornmeal pancakes" that I have made a few times before. I didn't have blueberries on hand, but I did have some frozen mixed berries so I decided those would work. After thawing and mixing up everything else for the recipe, I discovered that I only had one cup of berries and needed two to double the recipe like I wanted. I didn't have any other berry type things on hand, so I had to think outside the box and decided to go with chocolate chips!

In the end, they turned out super tasty! The mixed berries and chocolate mixed together perfectly with cornmeal to make super tasty, sweet and crazy fluffy pancakes that didn't need a drop of syrup to make them yummy! Woo hoo for recipe adapting success!!!

All mixed up!

Cooling the pancakes on the rack before putting on a cookie sheet for the freezer.

I put them on the cookie sheet with layers of foil to freeze...

...but not before the kiddos enjoyed their breakfast. (They actually did enjoy them but I couldn't get a picture of them smiling! Silly kids!)

Here is the recipe as I modified it!

Mixed berry-Cornmeal pancakes

Adapted from Blueberry-Cornmeal pancakes in the Better Homes and Gardens 12th edition

(doubled recipe- makes about 24 fair sized pancakes)

2 cups flour (I used white all purpose this time, but whole wheat would be tasty)

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 beaten eggs

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup oil

1 cup berries

1 cup chocolate chips

In a bowl, combine flour, cornmeal sugar, powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.

In another bowl stir together the egg, buttermilk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Gently fold in berries and chocolate chips.

For each pancake, pour or spread about 1/4 cup of matter on a hot, lightly greased griddle. Cook over medium heat on each side until golden brown.

March 10, 2012

I didn't have much shopping to do this week since it is an in-between-week. I did pick up some milk on Wednesday, which reminds me...

If you are in the Manhattan area, I have discovered that Rays, not Aldi, is the best deal on milk! Aldi milk is in the $2.79/gallon ballpark. Rays is $2.99, BUT they have a punch card where for every 12 gallons you buy, you get a gallon free. That used to make it pretty much the same price as Aldi. However, I recently discovered double punch Wednesday! Every Wednesday, they punch your card twice for every gallon you get! So you only have to get 6 gallons to get one free! This makes it about $2.56/gallon! Woo hoo!

Anyway, that is not what this post is about! As you have previously discovered, between recipes that call for milk and drinking milk, we go through a lot of milk. I have actually limited the milk consumption in many ways, but because I have a milk addict hubby and even worse milk addict children, I have pretty much accepted that milk is going to be a chunk of our budget. Which means that whenever I can find a good deal on milk, I stock up! Since you can freeze milk for use in recipes, I always check the dairy section for mark downs on near expiration date milk or buttermilk and stock up! I happened to run into Rays to check on a few deals and happened upon the dairy section while they were marking down! Score!

Here is the breakdown:

5 quarts of lowfat Buttermilk @$.60 each

1 half gallon of lowfat buttermilk @$1.05

4 half gallons of skim milk @$1.00

1 gallon of vitamin D milk (Delaney was out of her whole milk) using punch card free gallon= free!!

I can't find my reciept right now, but it all came out to $9 something with tax. I stuck all the buttermilk in the freezer to use when I make pancakes and such. The skim milk actually was about 5 days from its expiration date so we will probably get it consumed before it is in the yuck zone. Yea for a good milk stock-up!

March 9, 2012

I have made it a big goal that I don't buy any of my kids' clothing at anywhere CLOSE to retail. I do this two main ways:

-Buying used
-Shopping for next season

One thing that has been stressing me out it coats. Last year, I was able to get them both really cute coats at Little Britches. But, I was worried leading up to Little Britches that I wouldn't be able to find a coat for each of them, and then I ended up having to spend a fair amount on gloves and hats since they didn't really have any at Little Britches that matched.

So I decided that I would buy their coats ahead of time, even if the coats cost me a little more than they would at Little Britches. I figure that this will prevent me from stressing about getting the coats before it is cold and allow me to buy the hats and gloves to match while they are on sale!

Today, Jameson and I went to the mall to get mommy some new sunglasses (to replace the ones that Delaney so kindly broke) and took a little detour to the kids clothes. And what do I find???? Coats at JcPenney for each kiddo for $9! Plus, a super cute hat, gloves and scarf set for Delaney that matches PERFECTLY for only $2! They didn't have any of that stuff for Jameson that I liked, but I think it will be an easy enough color scheme to work with (Jameson actually picked his coat out. Apparently red is his favorite color today... He actually picked Delaney's out, but that was the one I was going to get her anyway. I love it!)

And, by the way, if you live in the Manhattan area, they still have a TON left! They also have some for girls that are $12 but come with snow-pants. I was tempted, but we don't really play in the snow enough to justify snow-pants, even at $3 more!

(Please ignore my unmade bed. I don't even have an excuse except "whatever")

Now, I may end up seeing a better deal on coats closer to summer or next year at Little Britches, but I am willing to take the risk for my sanity. And, actually, the amount that I saved on Delaney's accessories and probably will save for Jameson's will probably make up for the difference that I could have saved at Little Britches, so that makes me feel better. :)

Almost any money saving expert will encourage you to use a cash only system. I have always thought "This might work for some, but it's not for me". After all, I tend to spend cash in my pocket! But I also kept seeing posts from people who didn't think cash would work for them but saved money once they tried. So, I decided that it was time I gave it a try.

Now, they do suggest to use cash for everything. For now, we are just doing it for groceries. I honestly didn't think it was going to work. I had even already planned out depositing the cash back into my account when it failed. But, I tried it. And you know what? It worked. I actually came in considerably under my grocery budget for the first time in a long time.

Here is what I discovered:

-Cash really does "hurt"
The money experts will tell you that you will monitor your budget better with cash because it "hurts" to spend cash in a way that isn't true with a debit card or checkbook. I actually didn't find this all that true at first. As I had feared, I found it easier to spend a dollar here and there because I wouldn't have to face it later in the bank account. Where I "felt" the spending with cash was my first, it didn't hurt like they said it would. Where I found the "hurt" was toward the end of my budget. I found myself making smarter choices when I realized that a more expensive purchase would mean breaking that last $20 bill, and I didn't want to do that!

-It isn't as easy to "steal" from other budget categories
This is probably where I saw the biggest difference. Ever since we started keeping a closer eye on our budget I have been keeping track of each dollar we spent. But if it went over, I would just move it over from another part of our budget. With cash, that isn't really an option. If I want to steal from another budget category, I would actually have to go withdraw more cash or use my debit card for something I know I shouldn't- which is much more difficult than moving over numbers in an excel file!

-I didn't feel as uncomfortable carrying cash as I thought I would
One thing that kept me from trying cash for a long time is that I was terrified of losing it. I can be a little lot forgetful, so I was really nervous that I would leave it somewhere or it would get stolen. As it turned out, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be, though I was still a little nervous. I keep my grocery cash in a separate case in my purse so I can just carry that part in. It was so nice to not lug around my huge purse! That part actually made me feel more secure because I could keep my cash in my pocket and not have to worry about my purse lying open in my cart while I price compared (which can get me rather distracted).

If you still don't think cash is for you, we have a "modified cash method" (I think I coined this term, but I am not sure) for our "miscellaneous" expenses (those random expenses that come up that don't fit into another category). Since this was another area where we had problems monitoring our spending, I wanted to do something about it. But, I needed Shaun to have access to it while traveling. So, instead of doing cash, we opened a bank account specifically for these funds and just transfer the miscellaneous part of our budget over. It makes our main bank account much easier to keep up with and we are definitely more conscious of our spending since we know that once it is gone, it is gone.

My final word of advice to you on this topic: Even if neither of these methods work, if you are using credit cards for all your purchases, MAKE SURE IT IS A GOOD CHOICE. I know those rewards points seem nice, but using your credit card for everyday purchases can be dangerous. I know there are some people who are disciplined enough to subtract it from their bank account so they can pay off the full balance every month and not spend money they don't have in their bank account. But, if you aren't one of those people, make sure that you are making a good decision for you financial future. Those rewards that earn you pennies on the dollar seem nice, but they aren't worth the cost (or stress) of hundreds of dollars-or more- of interest.

March 4, 2012

Yesterday we went to the Butterflies! exhibit at the mall and loved it! For $2 a person, it was a frugal little treat for all of us. I love to go to these kinds of things because we can have a fun, educational experience for the kids that fits well within our budget. They also limit the group that is in at a time, so it wasn't overly crowded like I was afraid it would be.

Delaney was a little freaked but enjoyed them. But Jameson was a pro! He was so gentle and wanted to hold one after the other!

Delaney loved to look at them but wasn't interested in holding any. She tried to grab at a few but, luckily, there were no casualties!

Jameson learned a lot. When we got home we talked about how catepillars change to butterflies, so Jameson now knows all about "metmorfsesess" (aka, metamorphosis).

Apparently Shaun's hat attracted the butterflies somehow because there was always at least one on his hat.

My attempt at getting a good photo quality one. Note: Don't expect to get good butterfly pictures when you have two small children with you...

I was just so proud of Jameson. He did such a good job. He used to be afraid of EVERYTHING. A year ago this would have freaked him out.

Delaney is thinking "What the heck is on your finger grandma!"

Before we went in, Jameson found a little butterfly toy he wanted. I was considering getting it for him since it was only $2. But, after we left, we found this free butterfly craft instead and he forgot all about the toy! Score!

I am now wishing that we would have gotten a little butterfly garden, though. I haven't found them cheaper online and the ones there partially go to United Way, so I might stop in before they leave to pick one up.

If you are in the Manhattan area you should definitely stop in and check it out!

March 3, 2012

This was a post I was going to save for awhile, but I am feeling inspired to write it now!

I believe that God has a place in this world for everybody. He calls some into the ministry. Some he calls to care for children, some to work labor, others to invent things. I believe that, in this season of my life, he is calling me to be a stay at home mom. The point is, he "builds" everybody for some purpose, whether it be a career or what they do in their spare time. Unfortunately, some people don't ever find that job they are being called into. But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about my inspiration, Crystal Paine at www.moneysavingmom.com. If this is a new reference for you, you apparently are new to my blog. :) I believe that she has fully discovered and succeeded in her calling- helping people gain control of their finances. Crystal (I have decided that I am on a first named basis with her, even if we have never met) is a huge reason that we are where we are today financially.

When I first seeked out money saving blogs, I was looking for couponing tips. I wanted to find out how to get some free groceries. As I started following some of these blogs, I started discovering ways to save a ton of money in other areas of my life. These blogs help me in my day to day purchases and I am very grateful for them. But, none of them have done for me what Crystal's blog has done.

Crystal has inspired me to completely changed my attitude towards money. And this is exactly what I needed- an inspiration instead of a comparison. Comparison is what got us into debt. I wanted things that my friends had. I wanted to go and do things, even if we couldn't afford them, because everyone else was able to. I wanted my kids to wear adorable, name brand clothing because my mommy friends dressed their kids that way. And most of our debt wasn't even made of these little vanity purchases. They were mostly composed of "emergency" charges like car repairs that we didn't have an emergency fund for because we didn't budget well enough to being saving anything. Because I was comparing myself to people who didn't necessarily have the same means as us or the same goals we were not living within, let alone below our means. And that's where Crystal came in.

She is not a person I compare myself to. She is living on ZERO debt. Nada. Nothing. They OWN THEIR HOUSE OUTRIGHT! But I don't compare myself to her. She has a set of situations that are entirely different that I have or ever will have. And that is fine. I don't want her life. She provides me with something far more motivational that a person to compare myself to- she provides me with inspiration to gain the attitude she has toward money.

Her attitude towards money is amazing. She sees money as something that you need to get you through life, not what life should be all about. For example, she wrote a book, The Money Saving Mom's Budget. When she was asked to write this book, she was stressed out because she didn't need the money she would make off of it. So instead of taking the money for extravagant purchases or turning down the book offer, she chose to devote hours of time to writing a book to give all the proceeds to charity. That is simply amazing to me. First, she recognized that they were making enough to reach their financial goals and decided that she just didn't need the money. In a world where athletes are turning down multi million dollar contracts because they aren't high enough offers, it is refreshing to hear a person say that they just don't need that extra money. What an amazing attitude. And then, on top of that, to decide to put forth her own time and energy to write a book entirely for charity. What an inspiration to me! (By the way- if you haven't read her book I highly encourage it. Even as an avid follower of her blog I learned a lot and became even more inspired).

What means so much to me is that, for the first time, I have found someone I can use as my "money smarts" barometer. I have motivation issues from time to time when I am working toward any goal. As much as I want to be in a place where money is not a stressor, sometimes I want that super cute shirt for Delaney more. But now, I can call upon my "What would Crystal do" theory. Is this something that she would encourage on her blog? Is this truly a little splurge that fits into my budget, or is this me wanting to buy something that puts us further from our goals. Even when I am not feeling especially motivated I can use what I have learned from her to decide if it is a smart decision.

I guess the point I am trying to get across is that it is so important to have somebody, whether it be a person you know personally or otherwise, to inspire you, not to compare to. You will NEVER find someone with circumstances exactly like yours to make it wise for you to be comparing yourself to them. After all, you shouldn't be making any decisions based off what is best for somebody else! So quit making decisions based on your envy, and find someone who has attitudes or beliefs that you desire and use their experiences to achieve your own goals. Maybe your person is Crystal. Maybe it is another blogger, maybe a friend. But no matter what, find somebody to inspire you!

March 2, 2012

As I mentioned in my menu plan, I didn't do an awesome job of planning by what we had on hand this week. I didn't have to buy a ton of meat since we were stocked up, so that helped. I also didn't need to buy any milk yet because I stocked up last month with money that I had leftover from my food budget.

Dillons

2 Loaves Kroger Value whole wheat bread: $.88 each

2 Cucumbers: $.48 each

Whole wheat flour: $2.65 (I am trying to get back to using whole wheat flour since I had gotten bad about it and I think it is really important to get those whole grains in. Does anyone have any awesome tips for scoring cheaper flour? I haven't seen anywhere in town I can buy it in bulk for less than $2.65 for 5 pounds)

Kroger black beans: $.69

Celery: $1.38

2 32oz Yoplait yogurt: $1.99 each, used two $.50 off coupons, doubled for $1.00= $.99 each

1 Lara bar, used eCoupon to get it FREE! (No longer available, but go to www.Dillons.com/cartbuster everyday through Tuesday to load a special coupon)

Kroger bacon: Clearanced to $.99

Bagged salad: Clearanced to $1.49, used $1.00 store coupon that came in a booklet, $.49

Let me preface this post with saying that Hyvee has all of their Kellogs cereal 50% off. Even if you don't coupon you should hit up this sale because it makes most of it cheaper than store brand. Let me also let you know that the kids aren't for sale, they just thought the ridiculous cereal pile was fun. Also, before you think I am a bad mom for buying all this sugary cereal, you should know that my kids don't eat a ton of cereal, these are the kinds that Shaun likes...

I got a total of 22 boxes. Yes, 22. I am ridiculous, whatever. Sometimes a sale and coupon are just too good. I had 4 $5.00/5 Kelloggs cereal coupons. The only restriction on these coupons were that they had to be at least 10 oz, which means that these coupons were AWESOME! I also had an additonal two coupons, which gave me this:

About Me

I am married to my high school sweetheart and best friend Shaun. We have two amazing kiddos- Jameson who is four, and Delaney who is two. We are also so excited to be expecting our new little "popcorn" in January 2013! I love to blog about parenting, my kids, my "God moments", and my money saving endeavors.